The tourism industry has not yet reached the pre-pandemic values and needs support from the state, said President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) Andrei Ignatiev.

"Both incoming and outgoing tourism are not at all on the pre-pandemic level. Foreigners in our country are not many, there are restrictions on travel, we work with a small number of countries. The situation is difficult, the industry is working at 35-40% of its capacity. We need help from the government, we hope for it," he said.

The most effective measure, according to Ignatiev, has been the cashback program, which has benefited 1.6 million Russians. The costs of the state for this program amounted to 6.7 billion rubles, the president of the PCT specified.

"At the same time, the additional income of the regions amounted to about 70 billion rubles, that is ten times more. We asked to extend the program for the next year," Ignatiev added.

Made in Russia / Made in RussiaAuthor

: Ksenia Gustova